YOUNG ICELANDERS WANT TO MOVE

By Sunneva Gudlaugsdóttir

At least 85% of Icelandic young people would be willing to work in another European country, and more than two in five would move abroad for the long term.

Iceland’s youth are therefore the most ready in Europe to up sticks and settle elsewhere, according to the results of a new Eurobarometer survey announced during European Youth Week 2011.

After Iceland, the countries whose young people most want to work abroad are Sweden, Bulgaria, Romania and Finland.

Interestingly, with Iceland at the head of the table, it is another official EU candidate country, in the opposite corner of Europe, which brings up the rear: Turkey. Only 11% of young Turks declared a desire to work abroad in the short-term, and 16% long-term.

APPETITE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

Young Icelanders found themselves near the top of the table relating to higher education, too – second only to Germany: 90% of Icelandic 15-30 year olds see higher education as an attractive option, the survey found.

Also noteworthy is the fact that 21% of young Icelanders say they have already stayed abroad for education or training purposes – the figure is the fifth highest in Europe.

According to Halldór S. Gudmundsson, associate professor of social sciences at the University of Iceland and an experienced researcher on Icelandic unemployment, a number of reasons may lie behind Icelandic youngsters’ willingness to move abroad.

“Iceland is a very international country and that is nothing new,” explains Halldór.

“We are an island; we travel a lot and assume very young that we will probably move residence at some point.”

Around 90% of Icelandic young people want to move abroad for work; over 40% want to move for the long term.

The debate that has developed about youth unemployment may also affect the desire to search for new surroundings, adds Halldór: a very high proportion of those willing to move abroad long-term point specifically to that.

“What has characterised young unemployed people is that the group has had very few opportunities for quite some time,” adds Halldór.

“There is no light at the end of the tunnel yet after the collapse of the financial system. But this may also indicate desire for adventure, exploring new things and the wish for something better and new.”

Conducted by the European Commission’s public opinion surveyor, Eurobarometer, the survey contacted 812 Icelanders by phone (the most common number of respondents in Member States was 1,000).

All in all, 30,312 interviews were conducted in all 27 member states, along with Iceland, Croatia, Norway and Turkey. The survey was conducted from 26-30 January 2011 and its results are in tune with the themes of European Youth Week, which sought to address youth issues including employment, higher education, informal learning, the benefits of volunteering, and social and geographical mobility.

Certainly on the last topic, Icelandic youths have shown they are more than ready to embrace European opportunities.